Eagle Owls in Yorkshire?? (1 Viewer)

[London Birder]

If a bird was seen on the east coast , say,would that be good enough as a definite wild bird?I don't think it would be accepted as such even if it was seen to fly from the sea.Eagle owl is one of those birds that people just never accept as being wild.Greater flamingo is another example - it would take a Camarge ringed bird say before it ever got on the list.Perhaps a ringed bird is the only chance - apart from eventual category C status.

I think you have to look at potentially wild EO's in the UK against the backdrop of the numbers of escapes which are claimed to be at large in the country ... unless someone is suggesting that all '40 pairs' are wild (or a proportion) ... the BOU are between the devil and the deep blue sea ... to be accepted into Cat A it would probably need a ringing recovery or DNA from a dropped feather, corpse or living bird ... that is, assuming, the DNA of the differing populations is distinct enough to sort out, I'm no geneticist so I don't know ... or at least that's how I imagine how it would gain Cat A acceptance ... it's a shame we don't know the true breeding figures (or do we), one pair may be self sustaining but that may be the only breeding pair, in which case I'm not sure how that would even make Cat C!

 

[ed keeble]

... that is, assuming, the DNA of the differing populations is distinct enough to sort out, I'm no geneticist so I don't know ...

Me no geneticist either, but if DNA rules out Bengalensis types [good], and suggests that they are W European EOs [good] that would still leave open the question of whether they are here as rig hoppers from the NW Europe reintroduced stock; or fence jumpers from UK captive stock.

 

[London Birder]

indeed ... one website lists 8 Euro EO's either stolen, lost or found just between June 15th and July 7th of 2004 (!) from West Yorks, Oxon, Kent, W.Mids, Devon and Flint.

If we've got 'wild' one's there gonna be fairly hard to detect I'd say if those numbers are anything to go buy (incidently 5 of that 8 were refound, but you get my gist).


Given the number of races that EO has I would've thought that genetic difference does exist, and as an earlier post mentioned a certain somebody has a feather with an interesting tale to tell, who knows? It may all become clear soon (though I'm not holding my breath)

 

[Keith Reeder]

So I guess that the upshot of all of this is that nobody knows the history of EO in the UK, that nobody here wishes the known birds any harm, and that the BBC program might have come perilously close to giving away their whereabouts (which latter observation is I think very likely)...

 

[London Birder]

I'd say that's a fair summary Keith

 

[Keith Reeder]

With regards to the Collins field guide, yes it is very clear on the status of owls however it does state that a handful of genuine records for Britain in the last century

I've just had a look at Collins. It says that the handful of records are all in the last (which would be 19th) century.

That's very odd, isn't it? Every single sighting within the one century, and nothing at all prior to that..?

 

[phart]

I remember when I was a kid and first started birdwatching in the 60's there were no collared doves. Now they are everywhere. I don't believe they were recorded as breeding before that and they don't appear in The Handbook. The eagle owl is the same if they have arrived naturally from the continent as the program states. My point is that, even if they never bred here before a natural colonisation would be perfectly acceptable and should not be interfered with. The only point that needs to be established is whether these birds are escapees or natural colonisers. Every effort must be made by the RSPB to establish this fact.

 

[Reay_Bonxie]

The eagle owls are now protected under British law. What a change since wednesday's programme? :clap:

 

[StevieEvans]

The eagle owls are now protected under British law. What a change since wednesday's programme? :clap:

Hi
please tell us more...
Steve

 

[Reay_Bonxie]

Hi
please tell us more...
Steve

The footnote to tonight's programme stated that they are now protected under British law.

 

[jpoyner]

The footnote to tonight's programme stated that they are now protected under British law.

Didn't see tonights repeat, this seems a bit odd to me? Anyone know exactly what was said on this "footnote".
Under what law are they now protected ?

John.

 

[Kentbloke]

Under what law are they now protected ?

EU law

 

[London Birder]

slightly confuses me, did EU specifically order some protection law for UK EO's? if so I wonder if this is unique to this particular Cat E species. Maybe EO had a BOU catagory update? Unless the monitoring has now ended and they've drawn conclusions it seems a little odd for the EU to have issued a protection order (if that's what it is) thereby slightly pulling the rug from under any monitoring conclusions ...

 

[salty]

im glad they are now protected, however that doesnt mean they are safe - judging by past raptor deaths.......

i was told by the farmer, who's land the EOs are on, that at least one eagle owl in a nearby village was shot, and the owls from the programme suffered egg and chicks thefts in the early days, when they were not watched.

 

[Ben Nevis]

Excuse my ignorance Salty but I thought they were on MOD land ?

 

[Jos Stratford]

Excuse my ignorance Salty but I thought they were on MOD land ?

Given that the location is already being guessed at, I would suggest no answer to this one Salty. Overall, the less clues to their whereabouts, the better for the owls.

 

[Reader]

Given that the location is already being guessed at, I would suggest no answer to this one Salty. Overall, the less clues to their whereabouts, the better for the owls.

Don't worry Jos. I know Ritchie and there is no way he will divulge the location.

 

[London Birder]

hasn't the location already been divulged in previous posts?

In fact it's not even hard to find detail on the net!

 

[IanF]

Excuse my ignorance Salty but I thought they were on MOD land ?

Given that the location is already being guessed at, I would suggest no answer to this one Salty. Overall, the less clues to their whereabouts, the better for the owls.

No problems Jos - huge areas of the Dales are MOD owned with tennant farmers - mainly sheep farmers. It's also used for game shooting. There are several different farms in this area alone.

The MOD use the land when it suits them.

 

[johnraven]

Excellent show. But I'm not sure that I agree with the show's optimism (or pessimism for others) about the EOs chances of colonising Britain. 1 pair breeding for 10yrs, producing 20 young, along with another around 50 free flying escapees, and no new breeding pairs? That hardly points towards exponential growth. In contrast, UK red kite population must now be getting towards a 1,000 pairs. Surely this suggests that there are problems for the Owls in this country?

If I were a bunny, I would rest easy, unless I lived in North Yorkshire that is.